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Engin AB, Engin ED, Engin A. Macrophage Activation Syndrome in Coinciding Pandemics of Obesity and COVID-19: Worse than Bad. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2024; 1460:919-954. [PMID: 39287877 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-63657-8_31] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/19/2024]
Abstract
Epigenetic changes have long-lasting impacts, which influence the epigenome and are maintained during cell division. Thus, human genome changes have required a very long timescale to become a major contributor to the current obesity pandemic. Whereas bidirectional effects of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and obesity pandemics have given the opportunity to explore, how the viral microribonucleic acids (miRNAs) use the human's transcriptional machinery that regulate gene expression at a posttranscriptional level. Obesity and its related comorbidity, type 2 diabetes (T2D), and new-onset diabetes due to severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are additional risk factors, which increase the severity of COVID-19 and its related mortality. The higher mortality rate of these patients is dependent on severe cytokine storm, which is the sum of the additional cytokine production by concomitant comorbidities and own cytokine synthesis of COVID-19. Patients with obesity facilitate the SARS-CoV-2 entry to host cell via increasing the host's cell receptor expression and modifying the host cell proteases. After entering the host cells, the SARS-CoV-2 genome directly functions as a messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) and encodes a set of nonstructural proteins via processing by the own proteases, main protease (Mpro), and papain-like protease (PLpro) to initiate viral genome replication and transcription. Following viral invasion, SARS-CoV-2 infection reduces insulin secretion via either inducing β-cell apoptosis or reducing intensity of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors and leads to new-onset diabetes. Since both T2D and severity of COVID-19 are associated with the increased serum levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, high glucose levels in T2D aggravate SARS-CoV-2 infection. Elevated neopterin (NPT) value due to persistent interferon gamma (IFN-γ)-mediated monocyte-macrophage activation is an indicator of hyperactivated pro-inflammatory phenotype M1 macrophages. Thus, NPT could be a reliable biomarker for the simultaneously occurring COVID-19-, obesity- and T2D-induced cytokine storm. While host miRNAs attack viral RNAs, viral miRNAs target host transcripts. Eventually, the expression rate and type of miRNAs also are different in COVID-19 patients with different viral loads. It is concluded that specific miRNA signatures in macrophage activation phase may provide an opportunity to become aware of the severity of COVID-19 in patients with obesity and obesity-related T2D.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayse Basak Engin
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Toxicology, Gazi University, Hipodrom, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Evren Doruk Engin
- Biotechnology Institute, Ankara University, Gumusdere Campus, Gumusdere, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Atilla Engin
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of General Surgery, Gazi University, Besevler, Ankara, Turkey
- Mustafa Kemal Mah. 2137. Sok. 8/14, 06520, Cankaya, Ankara, Turkey
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Garnier N, Sane F, Massara L, Soncin F, Gosset P, Hober D, Szunerits S, Engelmann I. Genes Involved in miRNA Biogenesis Are Not Downregulated in SARS-CoV-2 Infection. Viruses 2023; 15:v15051177. [PMID: 37243263 DOI: 10.3390/v15051177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2023] [Revised: 05/11/2023] [Accepted: 05/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
miRNAs, small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression, are involved in various pathological processes, including viral infections. Virus infections may interfere with the miRNA pathway through the inhibition of genes involved in miRNA biogenesis. A reduction in the number and the levels of miRNAs expressed in nasopharyngeal swabs of patients with severe COVID-19 was lately observed by us, pointing towards the potential of miRNAs as possible diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers for predicting outcomes among patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. The objective of the present study was to investigate whether SARS-CoV-2 infection influences the expression levels of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) of key genes involved in miRNA biogenesis. mRNA levels of AGO2, DICER1, DGCR8, DROSHA, and Exportin-5 (XPO5) were measured by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) in nasopharyngeal swab specimens from patients with COVID-19 and controls, as well as in cells infected with SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. Our data showed that the mRNA expression levels of AGO2, DICER1, DGCR8, DROSHA, and XPO5 were not significantly different in patients with severe COVID-19 when compared to patients with non-severe COVID-19 and controls. Similarly, the mRNA expression of these genes was not affected by SARS-CoV-2 infection in NHBE and Calu-3 cells. However, in Vero E6 cells, AGO2, DICER1, DGCR8, and XPO5 mRNA levels were slightly upregulated 24 h after infection with SARS-CoV-2. In conclusion, we did not find evidence for downregulation of mRNA levels of miRNA biogenesis genes during SARS-CoV-2 infection, neither ex vivo nor in vitro.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathalie Garnier
- Laboratoire de Virologie ULR3610, University Lille and CHU Lille, F-59000 Lille, France
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Centrale Lille, Univ. Polytechnique Hauts-de-France, UMR 8520, IEMN, F-59000 Lille, France
| | - Famara Sane
- Laboratoire de Virologie ULR3610, University Lille and CHU Lille, F-59000 Lille, France
| | - Layal Massara
- CNRS UMR 9017, Inserm U1019, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, CIIL-OpInfIELD, University Lille, F-59000 Lille, France
| | - Fabrice Soncin
- CNRS/IIS/Centre Oscar Lambret/Lille University SMMiL-E Project, CNRS Délégation Hauts-de-France, F-59000 Lille, France
- Laboratory for Integrated Micro Mechatronic Systems, Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, CNRS IRL2820, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - Philippe Gosset
- CNRS UMR 9017, Inserm U1019, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, CIIL-OpInfIELD, University Lille, F-59000 Lille, France
| | - Didier Hober
- Laboratoire de Virologie ULR3610, University Lille and CHU Lille, F-59000 Lille, France
| | - Sabine Szunerits
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Centrale Lille, Univ. Polytechnique Hauts-de-France, UMR 8520, IEMN, F-59000 Lille, France
| | - Ilka Engelmann
- Laboratoire de Virologie ULR3610, University Lille and CHU Lille, F-59000 Lille, France
- PCCEI, University Montpellier, INSERM, EFS, CHU Montpellier, F-34000 Montpellier, France
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Host tRNA-Derived RNAs Target the 3'Untranslated Region of SARS-CoV-2. Pathogens 2022; 11:pathogens11121479. [PMID: 36558813 PMCID: PMC9786188 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11121479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2022] [Revised: 11/25/2022] [Accepted: 12/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic revealed a need for new understanding of the mechanisms regulating host-pathogen interactions during viral infection. Transfer RNA-derived RNAs (tDRs), previously called transfer RNA fragments (tRFs), have recently emerged as potential regulators of viral pathogenesis. Many predictive studies using bioinformatic approaches have been conducted providing a repertoire of potential small RNA candidates for further analyses; however, few targets have been validated to directly bind to SARS-CoV-2 sequences. In this study, we used available data sets to identify host tDR expression altered in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection. RNA-interaction-prediction tools were used to identify sequences in the SARS-CoV-2 genome where tDRs could potentially bind. We then developed luciferase assays to confirm direct regulation through a predicted region of SARS-CoV-2 by tDRs. We found that two tDRs were downregulated in both clinical and in vitro cell culture studies of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Binding sites for these two tDRs were present in the 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) of the SARS-CoV-2 reference virus and both sites were altered in Variants of Concern (VOCs) that emerged later in the pandemic. These studies directly confirm the binding of human tDRs to a specific region of the 3'UTR of SARS-CoV-2 providing evidence for a novel mechanism for host-pathogen regulation.
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Viral and Host Small RNA Response to SARS-CoV-2 Infection. MICROBIOLOGY RESEARCH 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/microbiolres13040056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
After two years into the pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), it remains unclear how the host RNA interference (RNAi) pathway and host miRNAs regulate severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and impact the development of COVID-19. In this study, we profiled small RNAs in SARS-CoV-2-infected human ACE2-expressing HEK293T cells and observed dysregulated host small RNA groups, including specific host miRNAs that are altered in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection. By comparing dysregulated miRNAs in different SARS-CoV-2-infected samples, we identified miRNA-210-3p, miRNA-30-5p, and miR-146a/b as key host miRNAs that may be involved in SARS-CoV-2 infection. Furthermore, by comparing virally derived small RNAs (vsmRNAs) in different SARS-CoV-2-infected samples, we observed multiple hot spots in the viral genome that are prone to generating vsmRNAs, and their biogenesis can be dependent on the antiviral isoform of Dicer. Moreover, we investigated the biogenesis of a recently identified SARS-CoV-2 viral miRNA encoded by ORF7a and found that it is differentially expressed in different infected cell lines or in the same cell line with different viral doses. Our results demonstrate the involvement of both host small RNAs and vsmRNAs in SARS-CoV-2 infection and identify these small RNAs as potential targets for anti-COVID-19 therapeutic development.
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